Roasted Beet Salad

Last week, I returned home from a long vacation to a garden filled with produce and also lots of weeds. As I cleaned each bed, I made one pile of weeds and withered plants, destined for the compost, and another pile of spring root vegetables. After washing the veggies, I laid them out to dry. They begged for a photo.

All of these veggies were planted around March first. The “Scarlett Nantes” and “Calliope Blend” carrots and the “Hakurei” turnips were started from seed, the “Red Ace” and “Bull’s Blood” beets from seedlings, and the “Pontiac Red” and “Yukon Gold” potatoes, spring onions, and garlic from sets.

When you have such a sizable haul at one time, you need to divide and conquer in terms of prepping and cooking. I started with the beets because I love a beet salad and hadn’t prepared one yet this Spring.

Wash and dry vegetables. Do not peel. Place on a sheet of parchment paper for easy clean up later. Cover with foil and roast for one hour, then turn oven off and let them stay in oven for 30 more minutes. If the beets are large, cut them in half before cooking.

When the beets are cool, peel with a paring knife.

Slice the beets and toss with vinaigrette. You may wish to add a little salt. You can serve as is at room temperature as a side dish, or serve them chilled. Either way, they are delicious and a cinch to make. I love the color tone and pattern shifts in the different varieties of beets.

Another way to eat them is in a cold salad. Here, I prepared a bed of arugula, and topped it with the marinated beets, crumbled goat cheese, and chopped walnuts, all of it tossed in a little more vinaigrette. Alternatively, you could use feta and sliced almonds.

If the beet greens are fresh and perky,

I cut them off the beet and sauté them in olive oil and minced fresh garlic for a few minutes.

Before serving, while they are still in the pan, add salt and pepper and squeeze a little lemon juice. Dinner is served!